The End of the Beginning
by Stretch Snodgrass
Summary: What happened after the lucifractor exploded? Who lived and who died . . . permanently? Reviews appreciated.
1. The Explosion

**The Explosion**

Anyone who's being hypnotized by a vampire tends to be muddled in their thoughts and actions. That also applies when the anyone who's been hypnotised is a bloodsucker themselves.

And it went double for Rory, whose thoughts tended to be woolly at the best of times.

As Bram Stoker wrote in _Dracula_ , "the dead travel fast." So, it was no time at all before Rory had flown back into town, landing beside Erica and Anastasia, the head of the vampire council. The three were standing before the building Rory always thought of as "Vampire HQ."

Vampire HQ was smashed to atoms. No, it wasn't smashed to atoms, thought Rory, because then it would have be invisible and blown to the winds. At any rate, where a short while before had sat a heavy, stone, neo-gothic building was now a pile of dust and rubble. Hardly anything left.

"Whoa!" said Rory. "I hope Benny and Ethan caught that explosion! Look at the place!"

Anastasia glared Rory into silence. Rory again wondered what he was doing following that creepy little girl. He just knew he _had_ to.

"I sense Stern is dead" Anastasia said authoritatively, as she walked around the perimeter of the ruins. "That fool overloaded the lucifractor and destroyed _my_ council chambers, _my_ library and _my_ property. Centuries of vampire heritage destroyed. If Stern was still alive, oh what delicious tortures I would set up for him! How I'd enjoy draining every ounce of life from him, drop by agonizing drop!"

"That would be something" said Erica, who showed her fangs.

"He's wasn't that bad of a guy" said Rory, defensively. "Mr. Stern, he let me out of detention once. I was in the basement hunting for rats. And then Stern, I don't know why he was down there, but he caught me, and I was like . . . ."

"Fool" said Anastasia.

Rory bit his lip.

"Don't you get it, you moron" said Erica. "Stern destroyed all of Whitechapel's vampire records, literature, history and money. He chased all the other vampires in the city out of town. And that's just for starters. Sarah was going to help your geek friends go after Stern. I don't even know if she's safe. That green shock wave we saw could have killed her!"

"That green wave was the dark energy in Whitechapel being destroyed . . . temporarily" said Anastasia. "It likely killed any vampire idiotic enough to remain within its path. That leaves me with you two as a pathetic combined bodyguard and entourage to prepare for the return of the rest of _our_ kind."

Erica and Rory exchanged glances. They weren't concerned about Anastasia's criticism. What was significant was that Sarah was dead.

As for Ethan and Benny, well in Erica's mind they were, at most, of secondary importance to Sarah. And on occasion, Erica would, for her own reasons, have gladly seen either one or the other dead.

But Ethan and Benny had (had?!) been Rory's best pals. It was safe to say they were crushed dead if they had been in Vampire HQ when it blew up. As for the rest of the town, Rory now looked around for the first time.

From the woods at a distance, it looked as if all Whitechapel may have been blown to smithereens. But no, it was only Vampire HQ that was gone. The rest of the city was dark, and Rory, since being turned into a vampire, could see well in the dark. All that happened was the hydro had been knocked out with the dark-energy wave. Did electricity require negative energy? Probably not, but it sure was a cool side effect.

All the street lights were off. But even now, as Rory watched, the lights sporadically turned on here and there with a hum and a click. The traffic lights and store signs too. More like the city lights coming on at sunset instead of the instant recovery that comes as power's restored after a blackout.

The glass store-windows along the street hadn't even shattered.

"If Ethan and Benny weren't in the building, they probably lived" said Rory, hesitant and with some trepidation. "And if Sarah wasn't, she should have lived too."

"Get it through your skull, Rory" said Erica, turning on him eyes blazing and fangs drawn. "Vampires, like me, like Sarah, like _you_ don't live the way mortals do. We . . . ."

"Quiet" Anastasia ordered. Rory and Erica, still under her mind-control, had no choice but to obey.

At the far edge of the Vampire HQ property, there were a tree and a few thornbushes, covered in plaster from the recent explosion.

Anastasia led the other two across the property in the blink of an eye. For the dead travel fast.

 **Notes**

Early this month, I couldn't sleep. I ended up watching _My Babysitter's a Vampire_ for the first time at 1:00 am in the morning. I thought it was clever and very funny. Although I'm really too old for what's really a kids program. In some ways, the show reminds me of 60's sitcoms like _Bewitched_ and _I Dream of Jeannie_ (which I mean as a compliment). Having a interest in seeing series having a conclusive ending, I decided to write this story. Any and all reviews (positive or negative) are greatly appreciated.


	2. Dark Energy

**Dark Energy**

Before the Lucifractor exploded, Sarah, Benny, Ethan, and Jesse had run for it. Why Sarah didn't use her super-speed to run ahead was simple. Sarah wasn't going to leave Ethan and Benny to die.

Jesse's reasons were more complicated. If there was anything he had cultivated in his hundreds of years of unnatural life, it was a devious, selfish cunning. And that was why he didn't rush ahead of Sarah and her geek friends.

It was obvious that Stern was intent on overpowering the lucifractor. And that meant an explosion that would destroy the vampire-killing vigilante. But it would only mean a local explosion. It was too bad for Sarah's geek friends who'd be crushed by the rubble; but not so bad for Jesse and not so bad for Sarah.

Jesse still wanted Sarah. But Jesse didn't want to actually mesmerize her. Hypnotism took the challenge out of romancing her; besides, Sarah wasn't the one who'd stay in hypnosis for long. And what better way to win Sarh over than to stay by her side, and comfort her, as she cried over the bodies of her two dork friends.

So, Jesse not only didn't run ahead, but tried to slow them down. Jesse purposely acted confused whenever the group hit a place where stairs or corridors branched off. But there weren't all too many places where this happened. Besides, Jesse was held in sufficiently low esteem by his allies that they weren't inclined to do more than shout "This way!"

"Don't tell the guy the way out!" Benny yelled to Ethan. "Let that luci-thingy kill him, for good this time."

"We're not like him" said Ethan, gasping as they ran. "Would Adama leave Baltar to die?"

"He did" said Benny. "On Kobol."

"What the frack?" said Ethan, confused for a second. "Wait. That's the original _Battlestar Galactica_ series with Lorne Greene, not the re-imagined series.

"Yeah, well" Benny retorted, "The original was a better show. Lorne Green was Canadian."

"Guys" said Sarah, who being a vampire wasn't breaking a sweat. "Forget it. Focus on running for our lives!"

"Run on ahead!" said Ethan. "There's no reason for you to stay here."

"I'm not leaving you and Benny behind" Sarah said.

The group made it outside Vampire HQ, barely. Benny and Ethan were heading for the edge of the grounds at a full sprint. And intuitively, Ethan knew the explosion was seconds away.

"Dive" he said.

"Huh?" said Benny.

"Dive, dive, hit the dirt" said Ethan.

They did. Sarah, Ethan and Benny dived right into the thornbushes in front of them. Ethan swore a _Battlestar Galactica_ "frack." Benny didn't even bother using "frack."

Jesse didn't trouble to dive. He looked down at the three of them, with a mocking smile. But even Jesse was knocked off his feet when Vampire HQ exploded and emitted the green energy-destroying wave.

Ethan figured there was no description for the sound of the explosion. You would think, all the T.V., movie and video game explosions he'd heard over the years, he'd have an idea. But no. It was too intense for him to describe.

Not so for Benny.

"It's like the death star blowing up in _New Hope_ " yelled Benny in the din. "Only not in space, not in a galaxy far, far, away but right here."

Far too late, Benny wondered what kind of magical shield he could have used to protect them. If only his grandmother hadn't waited until just under two years ago to tell him he was a spell-caster. It still sometimes slipped his mind there was such a thing as magic, and he actually knew how to do it.

Those thoughts disappeared as the energy wave from the lucifractor hit. Even Benny couldn't think of anything to compare to _that_. First came nausea that made him want to throw up his entire intestinal tract, or so Benny figured. Then came a feeling of exhilaration, as if he had drank ten cups of espresso within five minutes time.

But that wave went on what seemed like forever. Enough for Ethan to wonder if his vision earlier that day had been correct. _Had everybody in town died_? _Were they all rotting corpses_? _What was it like to be dead_? _Would he be moving on to a better place_? _What would happen to Sarah?_

The energy wave finally evaporated. The painful feel of the thorns scratching their hands told Ethan and Benny that they were very much alive.

The two teenagers turned around and glimpsed the ruins of Vampire HQ.

"And once again, Benny and the Ethanator are victorious!" said Benny

"SARAH!" said Ethan.

Ethan had again turned and now noticed Sarah was out cold, her eyes closed and her face tinged blue.

"I'll start CPR!" said Ethan, trying to feel her pulse.

"I don't think you do CPR on a vampire" Benny observed quietly.

But Benny too dropped beside Sarah and tried to warm her hands. If only he had the magic book his grandmother gave him! There must be something he could do?

"Maybe an electric shock" said Benny, remembering his lightning spell.

"You try that you'll kill her" said Ethan brusquely.

Ethan was starting with mouth-to-mouth respiration.

"It took you a year to ask her out and now you're practically kissing her, just like that" said Benny, angry at the crack about his magic.

Benny looked to his side. There too was Jesse, looking like a corpse. Well, an honestly, entirely, completely and sincerely dead corpse.

No _fracking_ way was Benny going to try CPR on Jesse.

"Dudes" said Rory. "How is she?"

Benny and Ethan had been too absorbed with Sarah to see Rory, Erica and Anastasia appear behind them. But Ethan now turned, and begged with Anastasia:

"Can you save her?"

"No" said Anastasia brusquely. "Nor can I save him" she added, pointing to Jesse. "The person _you should_ be concerned about saving is _you_ , Ethan. It appears you've decided to subvert the council's order banishing Jesse."

"You think I like the guy?" said Ethan, noticing the prone Jesse for the first time. "I needed him to stop Stern. And I did! You vampires have your town back."

"At the cost of my building and all my possessions" observed Anastasia icily. "At the cost of a major disruption of our community and the destruction of several of my guards. And it's you Ethan, and you Benny, who will have to pay the price. Bringing back Reverend Black after he's been banished. Letting Stern get the lucifractor _because he confiscated it when you were late for class_."

"That wasn't exactly how it happened" said Benny

 _"_ Quiet" said Anastastia, showing her fangs. _"_ Sarah isn't around to protect you now, Ethan. And I can easily overpower your incompetent carnival magician friend."

"Who are you calling a carnival magician?" said Benny, bringing himself to his full height. _"Lightning lummite nummow_!" he said.

A lightning bolt hit Anastasia, but it seemed to do little besides put her hair on end.

"You!" said Anastasia, as quick as the bolt herself, she bent Benny's arm almost to the breaking point. Benny fell to the ground groaning in pain.

Anastasia rearranged her hair with a frown.

"Now, what would be better?" mused Anastasia. "For me to drain the two of you dead, or for me to order your erstwhile friends to do it on my behalf."

Erica was opposite Ethan, Erica now cradling Sarah's senseless head, muttering "best friends forever." As for Rory, he had taken over Benny's job of trying to revive Sarah by rubbing her hands.

"GET AWAY, ANASTASIA"

The person who had spoken was Jesse, and he had an unexplained tinge of panic in his voice. Jesse staggered to his feet, looking haggard beyond his years. Or haggard beyond his teenaged appearance, one or the other.

"You're trying to banish _me_!" said Anastasia, going to him.

She flew him up several feet in the air and dropped him. In his grief, Ethan barely registered how funny it was to see a little girl pull what looked like a man of nineteen or twenty into the air and just drop him!

"I haven't any energy" gasped Jesse. "It _'s not coming back_. You've just about used _yours_ up."

"Silence, you upstart!" said Anastasia. "Your threats mean nothing to me. You've never had any respect or understanding for tradition. Your career involved ring-leading a vampire church and even a vampire high school drama club. You're even worse than this deranged _Dusk_ girl over here."

"Yet you wanted an autograph from Dirk Baddison" objected Erica, though she was still holding up Sarah's head.

"Stay out of this" said Anastasia, as she looked at Erica with glowing eyes.

And quick as a light, Erica fell asleep on the grass.

"Whoa" said Benny, still nursing his arm. "She's a snorer. Keep that in mind, Rory."

"I am running things in Whitechapel, Jesse" said Anastasia.

"None of us will for some time" said Jesse. "I don't have enough energy. Get out while you can."

"Then I can banish you a . . . ." started Anastasia, but that's as far as she got. The usually composed Anastasia screamed at the top of her lungs.

Benny and Rory were the closest to Jesse when it began to happen. Jesse slowly leant against a nearby tree, doubling over in pain. Jesse's skin starting sagging and wrinkling. The black of his hair became shot with grey and eventually white. It started to fall out in clumps. His body shrunk and fell in on itself, as his skin became peppered with liver sports. Crows feet multiplied around his eyes. His teeth fell out, rotted.

Ethan realized what had happened.

"He's aging! His immortality's gone."

"It's gone" gasped Jesse.

And those were Jesse's last words. He fell backwards dead. But his body wasn't even going to be given the dignity of lying in peace. Nor was it going to burn up as most vampires' bodies did. It oozed.

When it oozed, it oozed. Neither Benny nor Rory could get back away from the putrescent mess fast enough. The vampire's body immediately began to turn yellow, then green and black with rot. The flesh lost its shape and became misshapen, seeping and blob-like. It oozed and leaked into liquid as bacteria long denied their lunch did their work. Jesse's clothes sunk into the pus and Jesse's stomach exploded under his jacket. The blood and yellow and green rot sunk out of the collapsing body. The bones began to show on his hands and his face, and the nose sunk in and the rotting eyes collapsed into the decomposing flesh. Soon, all that was left was a skeleton of yellowed bones in a pool of slime.

Rory inched away, terrified at what was about to happen to _him_. Benny couldn't even think that far ahead at the moment. The smell was so bad, Benny just threw up.

By the time Jesse had rotted away, Ethan noticed that Anastasia had screamed herself hoarse. And in the interval, Anastasia had become a very old lady. If a man rotting away before their eyes was bad, the same thing happening to what outwardly appeared to be a little girl was something neither Benny nor Ethan could bear to see.

Ethan grasped Sarah in his arms, all nervousness, shyness and deference forgotten in his fear that Sarah was next to rot away. Ethan was even glad that he seemed too nervous to even get a vision.

Benny was gulping and looking at the two skeletons panicked.

Rory, for his part, was shaking but now resigned to the end. His thoughts became un-muddled. Rory was grateful that neither Erica and Sarah were awake to see their doom. Hopefully, that was how the girls would die. In their sleep.

"So long guys" Rory said, to Benny and Ethan. Rory felt a terrible pain in all his joints. This was it, he thought. The rot was coming. The oozing.

Both Ethan and Benny felt guilty. They'd been so worried about Sarah, so horrified about the decay of Jesse and Anastasia, they hadn't thought much about Rory.

"You're a real friend, Rory" said Benny. "We'll always keep that last picture we had to remember you be. You know, from back when you were human. In Science class. When we were making swear words from the element symbols in the periodic table."

"Thanks guys" said Rory, closing his eyes in dread of what was about to happen.

Rory didn't rot, didn't ooze, didn't do much of anything. Leastways as far as either Benny or Ethan could see. At least at first.

"What the heck!" said Rory. "My clothes are all tight."

When Rory stood up, he looked more ridiculous than usual. His clothes looked like they had shrunk while he was wearing them.

"What's up with that?" asked Benny.

"Yeah" said Rory. "Whazzzzz up?"

A lightbulb went on in Ethan's head.

"Two years of growth, Rory. Two years, buddy!"

"Huh?" said Rory.

"The two years of height you were robbed of since you became a vampire."

" _I like_ being a vampire" Rory objected. "How else can I be prank-Z, or vampire ninja or super vampire Rory?"

Benny and Ethan looked at one another incredulously.

"The vampire curse enforces a non-aging immortality" said Ethan. "When the lucifractor was concentrated on an individual bloodsucker, that bloodsucker was instantly destroyed. When the shockwaves from the exploding lucifractor went out, they weren't concentrated on an individual vampire. They simply removed the dark energy vampires feed upon. No dark energy means the vampire curse can't operate. It's wiped out. The immortality is removed."

"Anastasia and Jesse were too old" said Benny with realization. "They couldn't live without their immortality. They aged, died and rotted when they ran out of negative energy. But Rory's just gotten two years older. Practically nothing."

"I'm still a vampire, I think" insisted Rory.

"Try to fly" said Benny.

Rory couldn't. He jumped in the air and fell flat on his face.

"Wait, I've got a better idea" said Benny.

He flashed a picture of Rory with his smart phone.

"Here, Rory" Benny showed him. "Your first photo in two years."

"I guess" said Rory, squinting at the screen none too happily. "But if this keeps up, I think I might need my glasses back. Or get contacts"

In the meantime, Ethan's attention had turned to Sarah.

"What happened?" she asked, as she sat up. "WHY are you holding me? And WHAT is with Rory's clothes?"

Ethan explained. All the dark energy in Whitechapel was gone. Jesse and Anastasia had been killed. And it seemed as if . . . .

"Wait" said Sarah. "I feel different."

"You might not be a vampire anymore" said Ethan.

Sarah took out a compact with an old photo of herself pasted on the long-useless mirror. She took off the photo, and admired her reflection.

"Ethan" she said.

She kissed him, and Ethan fell into it like a natural.

"What I wanted to say about our first date" said Ethan, "was it sucked. What with the restaurant full of vampires, the lucifractor, that ghost dog and everything. But, uh, you're great, and this is great."

"And you're a geek" said Sarah, "But I love you for it."

"And you're _my sister's_ babysitter, and an ex-vampire" said Ethan. "But I love you for it."

The two kissed again.

"Score!" said Benny, giving Ethan a high-five off to the side.

Rory was flat on his face several yards away. He had been trying to run at super speed but failing miserably.


	3. Benny's Grandmother

**Benny's Grandmother**

There was several more screams at Vampire HQ that night. That was when Erica realized she was no longer a vampire. She spared a scream for the skeletons of Anastasia and Jesse, but it was mostly no longer being a vampire that concerned her.

"There's got to be some mistake" Erica told Sarah. "I'm not going to have my dream life destroyed so easily. NOBODY gets un-undead. It's a rule. It's not that way in _Dusk_ , it's not that way here. As soon as this negative energy shortage disappears, we'll be back to our immortal selves. Maybe even Anastasia and Jesse will return. It'll show you that a couple of geeks can't ruin our lives.

"I don't want to be a vampire" said Sarah. "And I've never wanted to be a vampire. Remember?"

"Besides" said Rory. "All that Ethan and Benny were trying to do was to _stop_ Vice Principal Stern _._

"Well, they didn't really succeed, not the way we wanted" said Erica. "Did they, Rory? You still believe in the power of immortality. You know, rocking the big V?"

"Yeah, I want my super powers back!" said Rory, as Benny and Ethan rolled their eyes. "You think this dark energy thing is like kryptonite? Once it's gone I've got my vampire powers back?"

"No, Rory" said Benny exasperated. "It's like Superman and the whole yellow sun power thing. Dark energy is the yellow sun for your vampire powers. Besides, it may not be your yellow sun and there might be nothing that'll bring it back."

"Frack" said Rory, kicking the dirt.

"Look," said Ethan "we know who to ask."

Benny's grandmother had recovered from her Stern-induced blackout by this time. She confirmed what Ethan had already speculated.

"You can't power up again, Rory" said Benny's grandmother kindly, although she had a very low opinion of bloodsuckers and considered the boy crazy to actually _want_ to be one. "A lack of dark energy _starves_ the curse of vampirism. But not in quite the same way the lack of blood or a reasonable blood substitute. The lack of negative energy doesn't harm the mortal body, but starves the curse. Once the curse is starved to death, it's as if you were never a bloodsucker in the first place."

Erica bit her lip and turned red.

"Why didn't you tell me that this was a cure?" asked Sarah.

"Because I had no way of carrying it out" said the old woman. "The dark energy drain is more of a side effect of Stern mishandling the lucifractor than anything else."

"So there'll be no more monsters in Whitechapel?" asked Benny, in a sort of disappointed tone.

"Really?" said Ethan, who liked the idea of things turning back to normal.

"Oh, most monsters will show up around here. Like the way they've always done" said Benny's grandmother. "But no vampires for the next four or five years. Not until dark energy builds up. Evil has a way of returning, through very simple means. Normal crimes like theft, robbery, assault. All those produce negative energy. Then the bloodsuckers can return without their curse being destroyed."

"And when they do I'll be waiting with open arms" said Erica furiously, "ready to be one of them again."

She stood up pridefully. But as Erica too had once needed glasses, her exit was marred when she walked into an end table. Erica responded by angrily smashing some of Ethan's mom's best china before making her way outside.

Benny's grandmother fixed the dishes with a wave of her finger.

"Removing dark energy is near impossible" she said. "But this is child's play."

"I'll speak to Erica tomorrow, Ethan" observed Sarah. "I'm sure she'll listen to reason. Oh, Ethan?"

"Yeah, Sarah?"

" _When you have a girlfriend_ , you usually like to put your arm around her like this"

Sarah put Ethan's arm around her atop the sofa.

"Well, I'll be going home" said Rory bitterly. "I guess I need a good night's sleep again."

"Hey, Rory" said Benny. "I remember how you were always eating carrots so you'd be able to see at night. And how you always kept walking into things."

"Laugh at the ex-vampire" said Rory angrily. "The helpless nearsighted non-flying guy wearing the clothes that don't fit."

"This isn't like you" observed Benny's grandmother.

"No, it isn't" Rory said angrily, as he slammed the door and stumbled near-sightedly off into the night.


	4. A Tale of Two Vampires

**A Tale of Two Vampires**

The following day, Ethan was talking to Benny via the web-cams in their rooms.

"You know, I have a plan where we could make Erica and Rory vampires again" Ethan told Benny. "That is, if we really _have_ to."

"Do we really need super ninja vampire prank-z Rory back?" Benny asked.

"No!" said Ethan. "And we want Rory _not to_ want super ninja vampire prank-z Rory back. You know Rory's sort of . . . ."

"Insane?" said Benny.

"Easily led was what I was going for" said Ethan.

"Yeah, Rory wouldn't have gone for this vampire stuff if he hadn't ended up on the menu at that vampire party " said Benny.

"We tried to save him" said Ethan. "But we conked out."

"We got out alive" said Benny, defensively. "But with our prime objective being a total failure. Our pal was bitten and our pal was duped into thinking it's great to be a soulless bloodsucking creature of the night."

"Yeah, but Rory being turned into a soulless creature of the night, without any known cure, how could we could tell him what he had done to himself?" Ethan said.

"It was better to let him think that he was some sort of vampire super hero" said Benny.

"That's the thing about Sarah" said Ethan. "She knew being a vampire was terrible. She _always_ had her feet on the ground."

"Even when she was flying?" asked Benny.

"You know what I mean" said Ethan.

"Seriously. You date a girl for one day and you can't stop talking about her."

"We were _just_ talking about Rory."

"Okay" said Benny. "But how are we going to get Rory to realize that being human is better than being a vampire?"

"I've got a plan" said Ethan.

"Okay, and Erica?" asked Benny.

"She's hopeless" said Ethan, shrugging. "She _is_ insane. Being a _Dusk_ vampire was her dream come true. Erica knew what she was getting into. Maybe Sarah can get her to smarter up. But, if not, when the time comes, I'll just have to help Sarah help Erica into inhumanity."

"By the way. How're you going to do that?" asked Benny

Ethan told him. Ethan also told Benny how they'd talk sense into Rory.

To be continued.


	5. Rats vs Pizza

Rats vs. Pizza

Rory discontentedly kicked a empty can of cola down the sidewalk, muttering:

"No more vampire ninja. No more Rory the Vampire, fighting for truth, justice and the Canadian way. No more of the awesome anarchy of prank-z. No more flying. No more zooming across town in a couple seconds. _No more fun_. Just plain old human Rory."

The Rory whose eyes itched from the new contact lenses his mom bought him to wear. Well, it was either wear those or go back to glasses. Rory was now a guy who needed eight hours of sleep each night. The Rory who'd be going back to his asthma inhaler when the mould spores blew around come fall.

"Man, I don't even know why Ethan and Benny asked me to come over and play Zombie Ninjas VIII."

Rory rang the doorbell of Ethan's house and waited expectantly.

"Operation Rory begins" Ethan told Benny, with a thumbs up. "On schedule."

Not since Ethan left Rory for dead at Jesse's fateful "vampire party" had Ethan felt so guilty about the fate of his gullible friend. But Rory was now cured. Ethan thought he could make things totally right for his pal.

There had been the fact that Rory had jumped onto "Team V" wholeheartedly. Should Ethan respect that? _NO!_ Definitely not. Rory was often a pain, but he deserved better than to think being a bloodsucking creature of the night was the way to go.

It was Friday, and Ethan's parents were out on date night, but Sarah wasn't babysitting. She had gone to a movie with the still distraught Erica. Ethan didn't envy Sarah the task of trying to convince Erica the human life was the best life. It was next to impossible. Ethan had seen it in a vision that _all_ Sarah would hear from Erica that night were quotations from _Dusk_ and praise for the vampiric life as a higher level of being. The fact bloodsuckers, were, you know cutthroat and evil didn't seem to make an impression on Erica. Well, maybe a _positive_ impression.

For once, Ethan's parents had trusted him and Benny to babysit Ethan's little sister. And that meant the two friends could turn all their attention on convincing Rory that humanity was the way to go.

Benny opened the door for Rory. And then Benny just . . . stood there.

"Well?" said Rory.

"Whazzzzzz up!" said Benny, with a shrug.

"Yeah. Whazzzzzzzzzzzzz up!" said Rory angrily. "Aren't you going to invite me in?"

"Why?" said Ethan, coming to the door. "We asked you at school if you wanted to play Zombie Ninja VIII tonight."

"You've got to invite me in" said Rory.

"Why?" asked Benny.

"Because . . . oh, yeah" said Rory.

Rory well remembered the day after being turned into a vampire. He had flown to Ethan's house. He had tried to climb in through his friend's window, but Rory's hands were burnt on the sill with a sickening sizzling sound and he crashed to the ground. Ethan and Benny had been the ones to tell Rory that a vampire had to be _specifically invited_ if they were to enter a house.

Rory went gingerly across the threshold, carefully going in hand after hand, leg after leg.

"Rory in the house!" he said.

Rory went in and out of the house a few more times, just to get the hang of doing it naturally.

"Can't do that as a vampire" said Benny. "Not without being invited."

"Yeah, but you'd better not try breaking into houses as a human" Ethan said ironically. "Not if you don't want to be taken in by the cops."

"But you can't fly as a human" Rory countered irritably.

"There's a spell where _I_ can" said Benny, brandishing his arms. " _Floatum Benny nummow."_

Benny floated alright. He floated upside down and got his foot caught on the chandelier.

"Rory Vampire used to fly _way, way_ better than that."

Once Rory and Ethan had gotten Benny down, the three played Zombie Ninja VIII. For once, Rory was winning. Rory even began enjoying himself. That is, until the pizza arrived.

"Mediterranean with extra garlic" said Benny, as he put the pizza on the coffee table. "And garlic bread on the side."

"What're you thinking guys" said Rory desperately, throwing down his game controller and backing away. "Are you trying to kill me? Kill your pal the Ror-ster?"

"We thought of you, Rory" said Ethan. "We've got something for you to eat."

From a door in the cupboard Ethan pulled out a large cage with a enormous black sewer rat inside.

"I hope you don't keep food in that drawer" Benny said sarcastically.

"Thanks" said Rory, as Ethan passed him the cage.

Benny and Ethan looked at Rory with disgust, as Rory opened the cage to grab the oversized rat. Would Rory remember he wasn't a vampire? Or would he drink the rat's blood in front of them? Or just eat the whole thing?"

Neither. Rory knew from experience that a rat that size was a nice juicy specimen. Why, he wouldn't have to look for another for the next few days. But Rory didn't expect what was next. For a moment, Rory was struck by a sudden wave of nausea. Rory shook the unexpected feeling. He went ahead and bit the rat.

"Ugh" said Rory.

The rat tasted like you'd think a rat would. Mangy fur and coarse skin; damp and wet and reeking.

Rory spent the next minute or so spitting the rat fur from his mouth, as Benny used his floating spell to catch the angry rat and put it back in its cage.

"You're not a bloodsucker anymore, dude" said Benny. "You don't have to eat rat."

"I don't think I ever want to" said Rory, flopping down on the sofa. "Those things are nasty."

Rory made a face as he remembered how much rats' blood he had drank over the last couple years.

Ethan practically pushed a slice of pizza at Rory.

Rory first looked at the garlic with alarm, but in a moment he grabbed the slice and chomped down. It was his first slice of pizza in two years. And Rory had forgotten what he had missed. He ate over half the pizza and almost all the garlic bread.

Benny angrily watched Rory eat the pizza and the garlic bread. The pizza Benny had ordered to _his_ specifications. The pizza that represented a rare victory. Benny had gotten it free when the deliveryman had arrived two minutes late!

"Relax" Ethan told him. "He's your friend. It's been years since he could eat anything with garlic."

"Yeah, but after this let's cut to the chase" said Benny.

When Rory had eaten the pizza, a bottle of coke, and gave a few of his best belches for good measure, he picked up one of the controllers.

"So, anyone ready to try to beat the Ror-ster at Zombie Ninja VIII?"

"Forget zombie ninja a minute" said Ethan, sitting to Rory's left as he finished one of the few slices he could get his hands on. "You really want to be a vampire ninja again?"

"Yeah. Who else can fight for truth and justice but mysterious and _smooth_ vampire ninja? That is, beside Rory Vampire."

"Truth and justice while sucking on the blood of rats and small creatures to survive" said Benny. "Or sucking the blood out of people and adding onto Whitechapel's _enormous_ missing persons' list. That's Team V and all it stands for.

"Nuh-uh" said Rory petulantly.

"Yeah?" said Ethan. "Then who else besides you . . . _and Sarah_. . . on Team V were fighting for justice."

"Erica . . . I mean, once in a while. When she wasn't abandoning me. Or cheering on the bad guys. Yeah, I guess they're not a great crowd. But I can work alone!"

"When did you ever fight for truth and justice alone?" asked Benny. "Without us by your side?"

"Yes, us. Your _real_ friends" Ethan emphasized.

"I guess . . . never" said Rory.

The whole vampire thing was becoming less fun by the minute, at least to Rory's mind.

Rory's thoughts had been, typically, scattered. Revolving around pizza, Zombie Ninja VIII, Rory's lost vampire superpowers.

But now Rory was forced to focus, he realized the point of this evening. He understood that Ethan and Benny had invited him over to convince him that being a vampire was bad. Very, very, bad.

Yeah, the two never liked the idea of being vampires, or they might have asked the Ror-ster to add them to Team V. But now Rory realized Benny and Ethan were _sort of right_. Vampires couldn't do a lot of fun things. They couldn't enter homes unless there was someone there giving them permission.

And those invitations eventually wore off. There were times Rory found he had to ring his _own_ doorbell and have his mom or dad _invite_ him into _his own_ house! It didn't even matter that Rory had a key! Rory'd burn his hand on the very doorknob as he tried to go through the door he'd just unlocked!

And vampires had no pictures, no reflection. Rory had already missed two yearbook photos. And what about pizza? No pizza if it had garlic. And you couldn't have a _real_ pizza without the garlic.

Being a vampire meant chewing on rats and other small animals. That wasn't tasty. That was sick!

It meant living on forever. Until Rory was staked and burned up. Or Rory could even end up like Jesse and Anastasia. It wasn't actually _forever_. Someday Rory'd be killed. Vampires were always killed, sooner or later. If not by humans then by other vampires.

Yeah, Rory could live for centuries without getting old. But he'd just be stuck as a teenager for ages to come. But that wasn't so bad. He'd have a lot of fun. Or would he? He'd be on the sidelines watching normal people grow up and move on. Always being on the outside looking in. His friends and everybody else would actually _live_ a _life_.

"You ever tell your mom you were a vampire?" asked Benny, in a very faked casual tone. "I mean, she still thinks you're volunteering at the petting zoo because you want to be a vet. I mean, you're her only son. She'd be pretty disappointed."

Rory had worried about the grounding he'd get if his mom had discovered what he was. Now, the hurt he'd bring on his mom came to mind. Rory didn't like it. Didn't like it one bit.

Benny and Ethan nodded to one another. Now came the final part of the plan.

"Now" said Ethan, to Benny.

The two sprayed Rory with handheld water guns.

"Frack" said Rory, as he wiped the water from his eyes.

"That's holy water" said Benny, handing Rory a napkin. "Careful cleaning it off."

"We thought it was worth spraying you" said Ethan. "It would make you think."

"Yeah, it could burn me alive" said Rory, wiping his face. "If . . . I was still a vampire."

"Rory, man, have you ever thought about _why_ holy water burns vampires?" asked Ethan.

"I just knew that it . . . ." started Rory, but then he realized the _why_.

Vampires were _evil creatures_.

Rory felt as if an atomic bomb had gone off in his head. The shock waves reverberated over and over again. Rory's memories of the morning after being turned into a vampire played over lucidly, in vibrant colour.

Ethan's and Benny's expressions when Rory told them he was a full vampire.

Ethan's disbelieving question to Rory "Do you know what you've done to yourself!" echoed again and again painfully in Rory's mind.

Ethan and Benny's wry rejoinder to Rory when he said he was going with Jesse to the church. "Vampires don't do church."

And there were many a time since when Rory was bragging about some vampire-thing, Ethan and Benny had looked on him as if he were crazy. Because, Rory had been.

But Ethan and Benny hadn't told Rory that. Because it had been too late. Rory's friends couldn't do anything but shut up and play along.

They figured Rory was an evil bloodsucker for the rest of his cursed life. Or, even if Rory himself hadn't _technically_ been evil, the bloodsucking curse just made him an evil creature who was friendly. And Rory didn't see that as too much of an improvement.

"Yeah" thought Rory ruefully. "Vampire ninja? Rory Vampire? Nothing but a couple of bloodsuckers."

Rory's moment of mental clarity and mental anguish were strong enough to touch off Ethan's seer powers. It was strong enough to leave Ethan shaken as well.

"He gets it" said Ethan simply.

"I sort of figured that out" said Benny, who had never seen Rory so distraught.

"Guys, I don't want to be a vampire!" said Rory at once, in a frenzy. "I don't want to be a bloodsucker! You miss all the real fun in life! Your life is destroyed. You're downright _evil_!

Rory jumped over the couch.

"I don't want to! I don't want to!"

"You're not!" shouted Ethan.

"Dude, you're cured!" added Benny.

The two rushed over to hold Rory in place before he could hurt himself.

"I'm cured" said Rory. "I'm cured. The Ror-ster's cured! He's human. Guys, man, dudes, was I ever stupid!"

"Yeah, we know" said Benny.

"Man, how could you stand being around a former vampire?"

"Rory" said Ethan, "My babysitter's a vampire. Well . . . actually now my girlfriend" Ethan bragged.

"Yeah, yeah, that's right" said Rory, calming down and returning to the sofa. He sat down and cradled his head in his hands. "Dudes. Thanks for straightening me out."

"That's no problem, Rory" said Ethan, as he gave Benny a high five to celebrate a job well done. "And if it makes you feel better remember we were monsters too . . . briefly."

"We were?" asked Benny.

"When?" asked Rory.

"Last year" said Ethan, reluctantly. "I was a werewolf for about three days."

"Yeah" said Rory. "I remember. You tried to eat me."

"Not to mention eat _me_ " said Benny.

"You tried to eat me" countered Ethan.

"When was that?" asked Benny. "There was an _evil_ Benny, but that wasn't actually _me . . ._ me. And _that Benny_ didn't try to eat you."

"I'm talking about zombie Benny."

"Oh, yeah, that's right" said Benny. "One of those coffee zombies bit me. And I was all like "Benny wants to eat brains." But only for about an hour."

"Well, the point it that we figure you're our pal, no longer a vampire, just one of us" said Ethan, "As if all three of us are fellow Jedi going into battle against the Galactic Empire."

"So" said Benny, with a neat trick pulling what looked like a _Star Wars_ light sabre out of thin air, "we give you your own ultraviolet light tanning bed light sabre, for the exclusive hunting of vampires and the other monsters that'll likely come to plague Whitechapel from time to time."

Rory cheered up, as he took his new ultraviolet light sabre.

" _Human_ Rory is in . . . da . . . house"

Benny and Ethan picked up their own light sabres and crossed swords with Rory.

"What'll we call ourselves?" asked Rory. "Team FM?"

"FM?" asked Benny.

"Former monsters" said Rory.

"NO!" Benny countered. "What does FM have to do with Jedi? And I don't go around bragging that I was a zombie."

Ethan wasn't paying attention to the two. While crossing light sabres with Benny and Ethan he had a vision. Ethan realized that the newly devamped team would have its first challenge in a few days time.

 **To be continued**


	6. Team Sabre

**Team SaBRE  
**

Ever wanted something for _so long_? Ever been hoping against hope, looking for a miracle? Have you ever gotten what you thought you've always wanted? But it didn't meet your expectations?

But was, in fact, _way, way, way,_ better.

That was how Sarah felt about being human again. She didn't miss the flying nor the super-speed. She was almost relieved to have lost her super-strength. As for losing the fangs and the need to drink blood? No regrets; in fact, that was the best part of it all.

Looking in the mirror, having her picture taken. Over and over again, so much so that Sarah worried she was becoming incredibly vain. Pizza and not having to wait for a formal invitation to enter a house? Just icing on the cake.

On _reflection_ there was one good thing that came out of the whole vampire experience. Two years ago, Sarah would have never thought she could fall in love with a guy like Ethan. But it was a friendship and now a romance forged in fire. Shy, geeky, thoroughly decent Ethan. The video games? The mint condition toy robots? The collection of US state and Canadian provincial license plates? Ethan's _Battlestar Galactica_ DVDs? She loved all of it about him.

Sarah loved it so much she could picture herself with Ethan, watching _Star Wars_ in a quiet split-level home behind a newly painted white-picket fence.

They were in a booth in the Whitechapel Road Ice Cream Parlour, not on a date but waiting for something to come along about a half hour from now. Ethan's "newly expanded" seer powers not only meant that he could "go into people's minds" (Sarah told Ethan she'd punch his nose in if he'd ever _deliberately_ tried to do that to her!), but Ethan could _punctually_ predict the next monster sighting. Ethan had hoped that normalcy would reign supreme, _even_ in Whitechapel, but as Benny's grandmother had said the gang would have to deal with monster's showing up from time to time.

"Team FM? Team _Former Monsters_! That's what Rory wants to call us?" Sarah asked Ethan. "I'm happy Rory's come to his senses. But _Team Former Monsters_? I hope you didn't agree to that?"

"Are you kidding?" asked Ethan. "Benny and I vetoed it right away. We don't want to be known as the team ex-werewolf, zombie and vampire . . . s. But don't worry. I actually came up with a better acronym."

"Why do we need an acronym for our monster fighting team, anyway" asked Sarah, as she finished her butterscotch sundae.

Throughout Sarah's life, she had preferred strawberry. But, for the time being, she was avoiding any food or drink that so much as resembled blood.

"All the best teams have names" explained Ethan, excitedly. "All the best names are acronyms. So we're Team Sabre. Sarah . . . that's the S and A . . . then Benny, Rory and me. Sabre. Like the Jedi light sabres . . . in _Star Wars_.

"Glad to be first" Sarah observed, "But why are _you_ last?"

"Well, we eventually decided to go with your name first" Ethan continued, eagerly. "As for me last? Sabre was just the best name. And Rory, Benny and me had a real fight over the right spelling of sabre! For plain, ordinary sabre . . . as in sword . . . the Canadian spelling is S-A-B-R-E. But if you look online, light-sabres . . . as in _Star Wars . . ._ most sources say the American way spelling is the right way. S-A-B-E-R. But there are _a few_ that suggest in Canada and Britain you _can_ use S-A-B-R-E. We couldn't figure out what to do! But then Benny pointed out that they don't even speak English in the Galactic Republic. They speak Galactic Basic and use the Aurebesh alphabet! So, really, light S-A-B-E-R is itself actually a translation! So there's no real reason to go with the American spelling. Since we're Canadians, the best thing to do is to go with S-A-B-R-E.

"You're right, Ethan" Sarah conceded simply. "Team Sabre's a good name. And we ought to go to with the Canadian spelling."

Funny, how love changed people. Sarah didn't find the words "You're right, Ethan" to be at all forced. Nor did Sarah even mind listening to Ethan's happy exposition on what she considered pretty silly _Star Wars_ trivia. Sarah enjoyed hearing Ethan talk about a topic _she knew_ he loved.

"Benny originally wanted us to go with Team BEERS" Ethan added casually. "Benny, Erica, Ethan, Rory and Sarah. But we'd need Erica along to make it work. Any luck with her?"

Ethan knew the answer.

"No" said Sarah. "Erica's still remorseful over no longer being an "immortal vampire, hot forever, just like _Dusk_ , living on a higher plane of being." Sarah quoted Erica with deadly sarcasm. "Give her some time."

Ethan shrugged. He hoped Sarah would talk sense into Erica. If Ethan had to facilitate Erica becoming a bloodsucker again, it would easily be the worst thing he'd ever do.

Just then Benny and Rory showed up, with only minutes to spare before the monster attack. Benny was carrying the aged brown magic book his grandmother gave him. Rory was wearing an oversized belt with his ultraviolet light sabre neatly carried in a scabbard on the side.

"Team Sabre has arrived" said Rory, as he got to the booth. "Two ex-vampires, an ex-werewolf and an ex-zombie, united to protect humanity from the _evils_ of monster-kind."

"Don't advertize the ex-vampire, ex-werewolf, ex-zombie part, Rory" said Sarah sharply."

"Yeah" said Benny. "Let's go with Benny the Awesome Spell-caster and his friends fight evil as Team Sabre."

"No" said Sarah, Ethan and Rory simultaneously.

Benny shrugged.

"Team Sabre fights for humanity" said Ethan, and with a shrug added, "an alliance against any monster that evilly preys on humankind."

One such monster was just coming in. The ice cream parlour's owner, a elderly man, had stepped aside from the counter as a delivery man used a hand-truck to push an enormous crate in through the double front doors. "One crate of Yummy Yak, special delivery."

"Yummy Yak?" said Sarah. "Yak flavoured ice cream?"

"It's not Yak flavoured" said Rory. "It's totally cool."

"Yeah, ice cream is nothing if not cool" said Sarah sarcastically.

"No" said Rory. "I mean it's an awesome idea. It's regular vanilla flavoured ice cream, but it's made from yak's milk. It's shipped straight from Nepal."

"Why would anyone want to drink yak's milk?" asked Ethan.

"My grandma keeps some powdered yak's milk in her special cupboard" observed Benny, looking expectantly at the crate. "I swiped it once when I ran out of cow's milk for my cereal. It's actually pretty good."

"This isn't my shipment of Yummy Yak" the elderly proprietor told the delivery man. "This is a shipment to Professor Adelaide at McMaster University, Department of Crytozoology."

"Na, this is your crate alright" insisted the deliveryman. "We've been following all the special shipping instructions."

"What were those?" asked the proprietor.

"Poke crate with provided darts full of ether every three hours. Shipping company agrees to be held liable for any damages that result from failure to follow these orders."

At that moment, the top of the crate burst open to the power of a huge paw.

The shipment turned out to be more yeti than yak, a pretty angry yeti that took an instant to break out of the crate and push the shipping man and ice cream parlour owner to the ground.

"Abominable Snowman" cried out Ethan, Benny and Rory at once.

The creature was a furred, dirty white creature with bloodshot red eyes. Stretched out, it was as high as the ceiling, while it was easily two yards across. The snowman bowled over tables with a wave of its hands.

"This is perfect for my light sabre" said Rory, brandishing it as if he were Luke Skywalker channelling the force.

"Wait, Rory" said Sarah. "You're not a vampire anymore. You need to be careful"

"Human's better than bloodsucker anytime" said Rory, "And a really _agile_ human is best of all."

"That light sabre's not going to do a thing against that yeti" said Benny.

"Are you kidding?" said Rory. "It's a snowman!"

"It's not called an abominable snowman because its made of snow" insisted Ethan.

From under the table, Sarah lifted up a backpack full of the magical gadgets Vice Principal Stern had confiscated through the school year.

But it turned out Sarah didn't need them, at that moment at least. Rory was definitely more agile, at least now that he had his contacts in. What's more, the light sabre did give a very good stab . . . a stab that went right through the monster.

"I don't know if it's made out of snow" said Rory, leaping back before the creatures assault "but it's melting. Wait until the Ror-ster gives it a few more stabs."

The first stab, however, had infuriated the creature. Rory was no longer Luke Skywalker; Rory screamed like a girl and dived behind the store's counter, which the yeti proceeded to slowly smash to smithereens.

"Benny, do your lightning spell!" said Ethan.

Benny did. The heat from the lightning made the creature sweat buckets, and slip in its own meltwater. Another blast of lightning from Benny made the snowman fall into pieces and thaw into a large puddle of dirty water.

"Reminds me of Jesse and Anastasia" said Ethan, his face turning green.

"Yeah, we could have done without more oozing" said Benny.

" _That_ was what it was looked like?" asked Sarah.

"No" said Rory, as he got up from behind the counter. "Way, way more sick and _really, really_ terrifying."

"I'm ruined!" yelled the elderly parlour owner. "Who's going to believe this!"

"Wait!" said Ethan. "Didn't you buy insurance from my dad?"

"Yes" said the ice cream store manager. "But how am I going to explain this?"

"My dad's also an adjuster" said Ethan. "Just make sure to tell him that the shipping company sent you the wrong crate. And the animal that was in it trashed your shop."

"Not to mention giving him the number of that Professor of Cryptozoology" said Benny. "That guy's _really_ going to be angry. He had probably the only Abominable Snowman on this side of the world, and his shipment got lost by mistake. The guy even went to the trouble to pay to have it shipped by refrigerated container!"

"Too bad the professor didn't get his package" Ethan observed. "I was hoping without the dark energy in town we might have more of a break."

"We still might, Ethan" said Sarah, reading the shipping label. "This was shipped out from Nepal over a month ago. It started heading our way long before the lucifractor blew up. Maybe in the future we can go more than a few weeks at a time without another monster to deal with."

"But when the monsters come" said Rory, as he carefully put his light sabre back in his scabbard, "Team Sabre will be waiting for them!"

The four teens joined in a group high-five.

 **To be concluded.**


	7. The Whips and Scorns of Time

**For Who Would Bear the Whips and Scorns of Time?**

Erica had ascended to a higher level of being. She had seen all her _Dusk_ dreams come true. She had been elevated to the ranks of the immortals. Erica had become _hot._ Erica had become popular. She had been readied for a life of ageless beauty.

It incurred a few costs. No garlic, which gave Erica bad breath anyway. No holy water. But how often does a girl run across that? Not going into someone's house without an invitation? The way _she looked_ , she didn't have to worry about that. Not with any guy she'd date.

Okay, the no reflection and no photograph part was awful. But Erica could always get an artist to paint her. That was more romantic anyway. That was what they did in _Dusk_!

And feeding on the blood of human beings? The way Erica was once treated as a geek, it was all part of the charm. And chewable mints were great for bad-blood breath.

But now, here Erica was. Reduced to being a normal human being. At least with her contacts and her cool new clothes, she was still hot. But eventually she'd get old, disgusting and wrinkled. And while Erica might be somewhat glamorous, she wasn't a powerful immortal being.

Now, everyday life was plain, ordinary and humdrum. The tiresome monotonous chatter of everybody around her seemed to scrape along aside the inside of Erica's skull like a scalpel picking apart her brain.

Eric's BFF Sarah, whom Erica would have thought _could understand_ , just _didn't_. Erica had spent two years trying to talk sense into her BFF about how they were now above and apart from mere mortals. But, tragically, and against all the rules which _should_ govern immortals, Sarah got her ridiculous wish to be human again.

Yet, even _that_ wasn't enough for Sarah. No, her BFF had to go _on_ and _on_ and _on_ about how great it was to be a human nobody. Sarah spent hours trying to impart the idea that vampires weren't glamourous and privileged beyond the wildest dreams of mortal men and women. Except, of course, for the imagination of the wise authoress who created _Dusk_. But _no_. Sarah said that _Dusk_ was all well and good _for a novel series_ , but in real life vampires were soulless evil parasitic bloodsuckers who suffered a cursed existence. Erica needed empathy for humanity! Unbelievable!

Erica was also frustrated that Sarah was now going steady with Ethan. Yes, Ethan's little nerd posse was good for a laugh. And they were friends of her BFF, so Ethan, Benny and Rory were worth tolerating. And Erica even used to have a _slight_ obligation to Rory, having inducted that unworthy adolescent into the exalted realm of the un-dead.

But _going steady_ with Ethan? It would have been bad enough if Sarah still had all the time in the world!

To make matters worse, Erica was humiliated when, in desperation, she tried to commiserate with Rory. Rory, at least, knew what he had lost. But _no_ , Sarah and Rory's geek friends had reached his simple mind. Rory was deliriously happy to be normal; or leastways not a vampire.

"I know Sarah's been talking to you about how cool it is to be human again" said Rory, eagerly, as he opened his locker. "But I think the Ror-ster can tell it to you in a way you'll understand!"

"Try me" Erica scoffed.

"You remember Vampire Sasquatch?" said Rory, taking out his favourite stuffed animal. "How I told you I was upset that his show was cancelled after seven seasons? But you know _why_ I was upset the show ended?"

"Because there'd be no more episodes" said Erica sardonically.

"That too" Rory admitted. "But I was really upset about the series finale. Vampire Sasquatch, hero and protector of the Great Northwestern Woods, was cured of his bloodsucking curse by The Mysterious Magical Shaman of Headless Valley.

"Headless is a great name for anything involved with that show."

"I thought that ending was totally bogus!" said Rory, ignoring the insult. "I was so angry I sent in an email. What the heck do you mean! Why can't Vampire Sasquatch be a hero with his super-awesome vampire powers? But, now that I'm no longer a bloodsucker, I know the truth! I get why they did it! Vampire powers aren't super. Vampires are evil bloodsuckers. And they can't do a lot of the fun things in life neither! Now, look at Vampire Sasquatch. Being cursed and un-dead he had to live on the blood of small animals to survive. Once The Magical Mysterious Shaman of Headless Valley cured good ol' V.S., he could go back to just living on nuts and berries. Like the protector of _all_ the innocent animals in the northwestern woods should. Valorous Sasquatch! So that's why you should be happy not to be a bloodsucker anymore!"

Erica slapped Rory across the face and flounced off.

Erica decided to quit Whitechapel for good. She emailed one of the few surviving vampires for whom she had contact information. He cheerfully agreed to invite Erica over for a bite. As Sarah was Erica's BFF, out of courtesy Erica texted her a goodbye; Erica noted she was going to leave the city by bus after she picked up some things in her school locker.

It was very early in the morning when Erica decided to get her things. The school had just opened its doors. However, to Erica's consternation, she found out her combination lock had been swapped with a cheap replacement.

Benny's magic no doubt. Ethan, geek that he was, wasn't a safecracker.

Sarah had left a note. "Erica, meet us in the Student Lounge. Sarah."

"At least it's not signed Team Sabre" sneered Erica.

The members of Team Sabre were sitting on the student armchairs. Sarah looked sad, Ethan very guilty. Benny looked disgusted. Rory looked glumly at his feet.

"You can't do this, Erica" said Sarah imploringly.

"I want to" Erica replied.

"No, really, you _can't_ " Benny snarled. "Those bloodsuckers will drain you dry. You're a bit of home delivery. The vampires _really_ don't want to add anybody from Whitechapel to their ranks right now. Something rags them about, you know, not being able to get too close to the city right now. They must feel completely pwned."

"How would you know that?" said Erica.

"I saw it" said Ethan.

"I know how your visions work, seer" Erica replied. "You have to touch somebody to get into their mind. Or lately, just be _close_."

"Your mom will ask Sarah, Benny and me to help identify the corpse" Ethan replied angrily. "I've been close enough to Sarah to see _her_ future. There's nothing like kissing your girlfriend goodnight and seeing visions of a morgue! Would you like to know _what time_ we're going be at the morgue to identify your body?"

"That added detail's part of his new seer power super-duper expansion pack" Rory explained.

"I didn't ask for it" Ethan retorted, who had reddened after blurting out details of his last night's date. "It's just lucky, living in this town, I have this seer power here to protect us."

"You're just lying" said Erica angrily. "You'd lie just to stop me from fulfilling my destiny."

"Destiny?" challenged Sarah. "Given the choice," _Who would bear the whips and scorns of time?_ "

"I know you like poetry, Sarah" Erica fumed. "But don't think you can change my mind by quoting from Hamlet's soliloquy out-of-context."

"Told you guys" shrugged Ethan. "We can't get her to change her mind.

"Out of the mouth of a geek" said Erica. "I'll either be a vampire again or die trying."

"Then we'll make you a vampire again" said Sarah miserably. "It's either that, or for you to be bloodsucker food. And we're still BFF's. So I'll live up to my duty."

"I don't feel like I'm living up to anything" said Benny. "I feel like I'm Count Baltar betraying the twelve colonies to the Imperious Leader of the Cylons.

"Well!" said Erica, sitting down. "Tell me more. About my being vampire again. Not about the geek trivia."

"You have to make us a couple of promises, first" said Ethan.

"If you deliver" Erica replied.

"No biting anyone in Whitechapel, no draining anyone in Whitechapel, no killing anyone in Whitechapel" Ethan insisted. "And no arranging, prodding, or pushing _anyone we know_ into being turned into a bloodsucker."

Ethan really emphasized " _anyone we know_." Erica didn't know whether that condition was made for the benefit of Sarah or for Rory, but she agreed nonetheless.

"You also have to wait four years" Sarah added.

"So you can try and talk me out of it?" asked Erica.

"Duh, you think?" said Sarah. "Also I know your mom. I don't want her grieving over her missing daughter. I _know_ you won't come back to see her if it means turning human again."

"That's true, Sarah" said Erica. "Now, how about you tell me this foolproof plan. Or is it supposed to be a secret to prevent me from, you know, going along with it myself."

"No" said Sarah. "That's what makes it so foolproof. You need Ethan for it to work."

"Why?" asked Erica.

"I've tracked down those bloodsucking nurses who run that phony blood drive" said Ethan. "If you remember, my blood's supposed to be a vampire's idea of gourmet food. I trade a pint for them agreeing to bite but not drain you. They savour my blood, you throw away your life and go back to the _dark side_."

"A bloodsucking _quid pro quo_ " Benny observed sarcastically.

"Well" said Erica. "Four years and I'll have reached the peak of my hotness. If I can trust you to keep the deal, well, I can live with a few years to stock up on photos to better enjoy my _Dusk_ -like timeless youth and elegance."

"A supernatural contract is binding in all dimensions" said Benny. "And this is _almost_ a supernatural contract"

"Will you take a handshake to seal the deal?" asked Ethan.

"A little geeky," said Erica shrugging, "but, with you, it'll do."

Ethan hadn't intended for it to happen, but with the handshake Erica's future passed before his eyes.

* * *

"Are you picking at my mind?" asked Erica, angrily pulling her fingers from his grasp. "You've been wringing my hand for a half a minute."

Ethan realized he was back among his friends at good old Whitechapel High.

"No, I was . . . further away than that" said Ethan, scratching his head.

Unusually, Ethan's memories of his vision were quickly becoming washed-out and confused.

"Really?" said Erica incredulously. "Because if I catch you reading my mind, I'll get you Ethan. I might not have my vampire powers, but there are other ways. How would you like me to ask the boys on the football team to use you for tackling practice?"

"Erica, Ethan just can't help seeing into the future . . . sometimes" said Sarah.

"Trust me" said Ethan, "I wouldn't want to read your mind unless I had a real good reason."

"How about reading me my locker combination?"

"Allow me" said Benny.

From behind-his-back, Benny produced a post-it-note with Erica's locker combination, as well as Erica's original lock.

Erica snapped the note and lock from Benny's hands and walked away.

"Dude, why didn't you just keep them in your backpack?" asked Ethan.

"I did" said Benny shamefacedly. "It was just a slight-of-hand thing. I was afraid to use real magic, because, I, er, was afraid I might lose them and have to ask my grandmother to get them back."

"Now for the real trick" said Sarah, "What exactly did you see Ethan?"

"I zoned into the highlights of Erica's future" said Ethan, scratching his head. "At least, the stuff that involved the four of us here. For decades to come. But, it's strange. The visions have pretty much faded from my mind. I mean, I just know that Erica will always be set on being a bloodsucker. And us four, we'll _never_ be bloodsuckers . . . or never be bloodsuckers _again_. But that's all I remember. A couple of minutes ago I knew my own future, but it's gone.

"It's too bad about Erica" Benny groaned. "We all sort of knew it might come to that. But what's real bad is you forgetting all the stuff you saw about yourself, buddy. What a ripoff!

"I think Ethan's lucky to forget" said Rory. "Who wants to see their life before it happens? It's like being given the ending spoilers for a real good movie. I mean, being a seer is cool and all Ethan, and loads of help. But, dude, don't try to look too far ahead."

"That's actually very true" said Sarah. "You're lucky you've forgotten."

"I guess I am" said Ethan, idly wondering _just_ what it was that he had forgot.

So, everything unnatural as well as natural has to come to an end. And the forces of good are more powerful than the forces of evil. So that explains how the fallout from the explosion led to a permanent decrease in the number of Whitechapel residents ending up each week on the missing persons list. And a new lease on life for Sarah, and even Rory though he didn't realize it at first.

But it wasn't the end of Ethan, Sarah, Benny and Rory's adventures upholding the right in Whitechapel. Only the end of the beginning.


End file.
